Dear fellow Entrepreneurs, please do not let solitude get to your head.
The entrepreneur is by definition alone. Whereas it is at the beginning of his journey, when the idea germs in his head, or when it comes to making a 90º turn by considerably modifying his product to improve it. But what exactly is being alone? As theologian Paul Tillich put it, there is a difference between solitude, which appeals to the glory of being alone, and loneliness, which symbolises the suffering of being alone.
Solitude
When a decision needs to be made, it will come down to the entrepreneur. When no one believes in his idea, he will need to convince people he is right. Everyday, he is responsible for carrying out his project and for the people depending on it. Therefore, he needs time to think. Time to take a step back. Through solitude, he will be able to have a critical and objective look at the decisions he is facing. Hence, it gives him room to enhance his creativity and problem solving abilities. Good decisions rarely come out of turmoil. Solitude thus gives him the strength to make the right decisions.
Loneliness
Albeit there are some positive sides to being alone, it eventually becomes a burden for every entrepreneur. Whilst it is easy to find people to celebrate with in the light of success, company becomes scarcer when facing set backs and tough moments. This is when loneliness kicks in. Stress becomes harder to cope with when alone. Doubt is less easily shaken away when no one is around to approve of an idea. And loneliness nurtures a vicious circle in which the entrepreneur’s confidence — one of his key assets — is weakened and put to the test.
Hey you, stand up for yourself!
There are remedies to loneliness for an entrepreneur.
1. Being an entrepreneur requires one to be in the field, to test his product, to network with other entrepreneurs, to learn from other start-ups. The entrepreneur job description has a big social component to it. And what better way for an entrepreneur to accomplish the above than by networking with his peers. Through networking events, co-working or co-living, an entrepreneur still has the possibility to make time for himself yet finds himself in an environment from which he can learn.
2. Work with your team. You have co-founders, employees, investors and trusted advisors. Share your thoughts with them in order to get their insight and feedback. No one has ever looked down on questioning various options in order to choose the best one (but people have been known to condemn failure).
3. Sports, cultural activities and going out. When facing a tough decision, dwelling on it is never the answer. Go out. Reset. Once your mind is clear again, give it a go. And who knows, the solution might come from an analogy with the most unexpected of situations.
4. Get help and seek advice. If the burden becomes too heavy, do not hesitate to take strong action. Other people have faced this issue before. Why not partner with them? It’s worth losing a few percent of equity to an incubator (or investor) if it will deliver advice and a new set of tools to keep you afloat. Or seek counsel from professionals therapists in order to come out of this vicious circle and turn it around back to your advantage.
Whether it is amongst the above, the solution exists out there.
Go out and find it!
